Sling type upholstered furniture

ABSTRACT

Furniture construction where the back and seat portions are a unitary fabric or other suitable flexible material loosely hung or slung between a top back rail and a front rail with no other support. However, the loose hanging of the back and seat is restrained by a piece of fabric or the like, secured at one side to a lower back rail and at its opposite side to the slung fabric adjacent a point which would otherwise be the juncture of the back with the seat, straightening the back portion of the fabric under vertical pressure on the seat portion while retaining the slung comfort of the seat portion. The slung portions are covered by unified upholstered seat and back elements which altogether simulate a piece of upholstered furniture.

United States Patent Borenstein [54] SLING TYPE UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE [72] Inventor: Martin Borenstein, 2679 Mountaingate Way, Oakland, Calif. 946-1 1 22 Filed: Nov. 10, 1969 211 Appl. No.: 875,077

[52] US. Cl. ..297/44l, 297/443, 297/450, 297/454 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47c 7/00, A47c 7/20, A47c 5/00 [58] Field of Search ..297/307-309, 382, 297/440, 441, 445, 454-456; 182/212-218, 228; 85/41 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,233,986 3/1941 Leech ..297/218 2,644,508 7/1953 Weill .....297/441 2,709,485 5/1955 Haven ..297/446 3,379,474 4/1968 Schwarz, Jr ..297/441 X 3,462,196 8/1969 Arnold et a1 ..297/455 3,471,200 10/1969 Morrison ..297/441 [4 1 Oct. 17, 1972 293,726 2/1884 Fancher ..85/4l FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 231,366 4/1925 Great Britain ..85/55 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Henry Gifford Hardy [57] ABSTRACT Furniture construction where the back and seat portions are a unitary fabric or other suitable flexible materialloosely hung or slung between a top back rail and a front rail with no other support. However, the loose hanging of the back and seat is restrained by a piece of fabric or the like, secured at one side to a lower back rail and at its opposite side to the slung fabric adjacent a point which would otherwise be the juncture of the back with the seat, straightening the back portion of the fabric under vertical pressure on the seat portion while retaining the slung comfort of the seat portion. The slung portions are covered by unified upholstered seat and back elements which altogether simulate a piece of upholstered furniture.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures P'A'TENTEDum 11 m2 FIE--EL INVENTOR. MAR TIN 30K ENS TE IN BY PIE .2.

SLING TYPE UPI-IOLSTERED FURNITURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention is directed to a type of simulated upholstered furniture with a flexible support which is restrained under pressure of use to provide a more vertical back without destroying the sling comfort of the seat.

2. Description of the Prior Art Throughout the course of history sling type furniture has been used with skins and fabric, sometimes in the seat portions alone, sometimes in the seat portion and back portion but separated from each other, and sometimes in a continuous piece forming the back and seat. The very nature of the structure includes some uncomfortable consequences in each form of use. So far as is presently known there has been no attempt to upholster sling type furniture and this may be attributed to the fact that the support is constantly in motion when in use, which motion varies according to the weight on the seat portion and the positioning of the weight thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the purpose of the present invention to provide sling type furniture that is made comfortable by restraining the movement so that when a force or weight is placed on the seat portion, the back portion will straighten to make the seated position comfortable and still provide the benefits of loosely slung material.

It is also an object of the invention to provide upholstery for this type of furniture which adds the upholstered comfort to the loosely slung yielding fabric of the support.

It is also an object to provide'upholstery for sling type furniture which will not separate, leaving an opening in use between the seat portion and the back portion and will at all times adjust and adapt to the curvature permitted by the fabric support.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, economyand ease of assembly and disassembly, also such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will fully appear and as are inherently possessed by the device and invention described herein.

The invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and while there is shown therein a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the same is illustrative of the invention and that the invention is capable of modification and change and comprehends other details of construction without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an occasional chair constructed and upholstered in the manner and form of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a detailed view on an enlarged scale taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2, and

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Regardless of the kind of the furniture piece, i.e., lounge chair, love seat or davenport, each essentially has the same structural characteristics. The end pieces 11 are preferably uniform for all of the pieces and are countersunk on both sides with uniform rectangular countersinking 12 to receive the but ends of the front rail 14, the restraining rail 15 and the top rail 16. The rails 14, 15 and 16 are secured to the end pieces 11 to form a rigid structure by means of hanger bolts 17. The hanger bolts 17 project through holes 19 in the countersunk portions and are drawn up tight therein by Allenuts 29. The heads of nuts 29 are covered by rectangular plugs 18 which are countersunk on their inner surface to receive the Allenut heads 29. The blocks 18 are positioned with a press fit and do not need any other means for holding them in position. It will be observed that the frame for the furniture consists of two side pieces and the three rails. This is extremely simple and easy to ship in knock-down form.

The furniture requires no springs but is dependent for comfort and support upon its sling type of suspension. A heavy double piece of vinyl or other suitable flexible material 20 is wrapped around the upper rail 16 and secured thereto as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The material 20 is brought down over the top in front and extends in a suspended loose loop with its lower edge wrapped around the rail 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and secured thereto in any suitable manner. The natural assumed curve of the loop with no weight to support is shown at 27 in FIG. 2. If the suspension was merely a loose sling from the top rail 16 to the front rail 14, it would have the same discomforts and inconveniences encountered in trying to sit in a hammock, for example. In order to provide the necessary control and back support, and to limit the movement of the back portion 20A, while at the same time permitting the seat portion 203 to adapt to the shape and weight of the occupant, another web 21 of material is wrapped around and secured to the restraining rail 15 and sewed at 22 to the material 20 to divide the areas into a back portion 20A and the seat portion 208. It will be observed that as the weight is applied to the seat in the direction of the arrow 23, the seat portion 208 being longer than the back portion 20A is free to adapt itself to the form of the occupant in a comfortable loop or sling. The back portion 20A does not have this same freedom of movement as it is restrained by the material 21 and the sling 22. As the weight indicated by arrow 23 is applied, the back portion 20A straightens thus giving the occupant a more comfortable position with suitable back support which is not obtainable by any other type of sling suspension. The curve of the material 20 under useful weight is shown by the broken line 28 in FIG. 2.

The upholstery is indicated by a back pillow-like member 24 and a seat pillow-like member 25. These are joined together by a web of the same material, or sewing if preferred, at 26. If the two pillows 24 and 25 were not joined as is the usual practice, the seat pillow would be free to move, and would almost invariably move forward, separating itself from the back pillow 24 leaving an uncomfortable space and an improper back support'due to the gapbetween the seat pillow and the back pillow. When pressure is applied to the seat pillow, as shown by the arrow 23, invariably the back pillow would remain in place thereby causing the gap. The juncture 26 of the two pillows 24 and 25 in combination, eliminates the possibility of a gap between the two, and further assures that the back pillow will always be in the supporting position for the body, with no possibility of gaps. In a davenport, there would be three sets of upholstered pillows'24 and 25. In a love seat there would be two sets, and in an ordinary occasional chair, there would be only one set. In each instance the sets would be joined as at 26.

Having the upholstery only in the joined pillows, it is obvious that the upholstery can be changed by merely changing the seats so that it is possible to have one set of pillows 24 and 25 of vinyl for young children which can be readily replaced by a more sophisticated set of upholstered pillows of fabric and the like, before company arrives. Also, it is not necessary to send the pieces to an upholstery shop when one set of pillows is worn or otherwise rendered undesirable. All that is necessary is to reorder a new set of upholstered pillows and the main piece itself does not have to be either discarded or changed in any manner.

Another feature of this type of furniture is that by removing the plugs 18 and unbolting the bolts 17, the

piece of furniture can be shipped in knocked down front rail permitting the web to free fall naturally into a supportive loop, and a second web between said end pieces with its outer marginal edge wrapped over and secured to said lower back rail and the inner marginal edge thereof secured to the loop of said first web at a point between the upper and lower marginal edges to define a seat portion and a back portion and to limit somewhat the free movement of said loop.

2. The furniture frame of claim 1 wherein the two webs are a woven fabric.

3. The furniture frame of claim 1 wherein the two webs are a nonwoven flexible free moving material.

4. The furniture frame'of claim 1 wherein the rails are mortised into and secured through the end pieces, with the securing means covered by a corresponding plug on the exterior side of said end pieces.

5. Simulated upholstered furniture comprising in combination, a pair of matching end pieces, said end pieces being joined by a top rail, a front rail, and a lower back rail secured to and between said end pieces, a web between said end pieces with the upper marginal edge wrapped over and secured to said top rail with the lower marginal edge wrapped over and secured to the said front rail permitting the web to free fall into a natural loop, a second web between said end ieces with its outer ar na ed wra ed over nd ecured to said lower baci rail arid the iiiirer marginal edge thereof secured to the loop of said first web at a point between the upper and lower marginal edges to define a seat portion and a back portion and limit the free movement of said first web, and a pair of upholstered pillows forming a back and a seat for said web the end pieces, with the securing means covered by a corresponding plug on the exterior side of said end pieces. v 

1. A frame for sling type furniture comprising in combination a pair of matching end pieces, joined together by a top rail, a front rail, and a lower back rail, being secured thereto, a freely movable web between said end pieces with the upper marginal edge thereof wrapped over and secured to said top rail and the lower marginal edge wrapped over and secured to the said front rail permitting the web to free fall naturally into a supportive loop, and a second web between said end pieces with its outer marginal edge wrapped over and secured to said lower back rail and the inner marginal edge thereof secured to the loop of said first web at a point between the upper and lower marginal edges to define a seat portion and a back portion and to limit somewhat the free movement of said loop.
 2. The furniture frame of claim 1 wherein the two webs are a woven fabric.
 3. The furniture frame of claim 1 wherein the two webs are a nonwoven flexible free moving material.
 4. The furniture frame of claim 1 wherein the rails are mortised into and secured through the end pieces, with the securing means covered by a corresponding plug on the exterior side of said end pieces.
 5. Simulated upholstered furniture comprising in combination, a pair of matching end pieces, said end pieces being joined by a top rail, a front rail, and a lower back rail, secured to and between said end pieces, a web between said end pieces with the upper marginal edge wrapped over and secured to said top rail with the lower marginal edge wrapped over and secured to the said front rail permitting the web to free fall into a natural loop, a second web between said end pieces with its outer marginal edge wrapped over and secured to said lower back rail and the inner marginal edge thereof secured to the loop of said first web at a point between the upper and lower marginal edges to define a seat portion and a back portion and limit the free movement of said first web, and a pair of upholstered pillows forming a back and a seat for said web support joined at their juncture to prevent separation caused by movement of the said first web.
 6. The simulated upholstered furniture of claim 5 wherein the first and second webs are a woven fabric.
 7. The simulated upholstered furniture of claim 5 wherein the first and second webs are a nonwoven flexible free moving material.
 8. The simulated upholstered furniture of claim 5 wherein the rails are mortised into and secured through the end pieces, with the securing means covered by a corresponding plug on the exterior side of said end pieces. 